About the Investigator:

Prof. Nussbaum’s research focuses on how bacteria associated with chronic oral inflammation interact with cancer cells. He received his MD and PhD degrees from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and trained in internal medicine before transitioning to a post-doctoral fellowship at the Weizmann Institute in Israel. He is now a full Professor in the Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research at the Hebrew University’s Dental Faculty.

About the Research:

Pancreatic cancer is a severe disease often found in people without any known risk factors. Recent research suggests that bacteria from periodontal disease, a common chronic mouth inflammation, might be a new risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Prof. Nussbaum’s previous work showed that a specific type of bacteria linked to periodontal disease can move from the mouth to the pancreas, causing pre-cancerous changes in the pancreatic tissue. When he combined this bacterial infection with a genetic mutation associated with pancreatic cancer risk, he discovered that the bacteria and the mutation together sped up the development of pancreatic cancer. This suggests that these bacteria might play a direct role in causing pancreatic cancer.

The Nussbaum lab aims to understand how oral bacteria are connected to pancreatic cancer. They found these bacteria inside the cells of developing pancreatic tumors and will use advanced techniques to identify which cells are infected and how these bacteria affect the gene activity of these cells. Using patient-derived cell cultures, they will investigate the genetic mutations that allow bacteria to infect and stay in the tumors. Since these bacteria thrive in nutrient-poor conditions, they will also study the metabolic pathways of cancer cells that harbor these bacteria.

The research performed by Prof. Nussbaum and his team should lead to a detailed understanding of how bacteria inside cells contribute to pancreatic cancer, potentially leading to new treatment options for patients.